The only thing that stops the dust is the rain. It’s a sweet reprieve, but there is no middle ground. The land is either as dry as the Betty Ford clinic, or as wet as the ocean floor. Everything can be seen from the ridge overlooking Armadillo as John Marston gently bounces along atop...

As stated in the title, this is a free fire spoiler zone. If it moves, you can spoil. If you do not want spoilers, press the back button on the browser. You've been warned. If you spoil something after being warned, I'm considering it on the same level as going to TVTropes, unhiding all spoilers, and complaining when you find out what happened.

With that out of the way, how many people went into a murderous rage on the hunters in Pittsburgh? When I finally killed the fuckers in the Humvee I jumped up and shouted burn you sons of bitches! With my wife in the room...took some explaining.

Also, in the hotel basement, my wife went to bed so I had to hook my headset into the audio outs on my TV. I was so tense and my hands were shaking so much I spent ten minutes trying to unroll cord from the tidy wrap I store it in.

The violence definitely gets to a point where you're accomplished enough you know how to handle some difficult encounters, then you work out a plan that is so diabolically and sensationally violent that you can't help but shout a war cry in your eager destruction of both living and fungified enemies.

I never got the feeling a lot of people did that Joel is a monster. I feel he is what that world would make of us all. I had to ask: had Sarah not gotten shot would he have become who he is in the game? I imagine him more trying to shelter her from the world. Interestingly, things have gone so far to shit I fear that would have got both of them killed trying to get to a QZ. I know I wouldn't stand a chance if I had to get my 10-years younger sister through that kind of world.

I also absolutely love how they avoided the "replacement goldfish" syndrome with Ellie. Oh, Sarah's dead? Here's a new daughter! Even at the very end it's apparent that Joel's got a hole right through him where Sarah used to be, and nothing, not even Ellie will ever fix it. And for her part, Ellie doesn't latch onto Joel as a replacement parent.

And fuck the Fireflies, as well. What in the fucking fuck did they ever do to improve folks' lot in life? They're not as bad as the Pittsburgh hunters (they of the: "the Army's holding out on us! Kill them all and raid the storehouse. Whoops! Guess it was empty after all. ... And we killed the only trained military force in the area and destroyed their heavy weapons... Enjoy some Cordyceps, people! Poorly remembered Darwin FTW muhfuggahs!" mentality. But still... Imagine the Army could have had an easier go of it had they not been fighting a two-front war on limited resources.

Since I don't have a PS3, won't be getting one anytime soon, and won't be playing some game, would somebody like to give me a rundown of the plot and their general impressions of things?_________________

Kapow wrote:

daylight savings time was introduced under a democratic congress. pretty clear that this is part of the liberal global warming farce, if we are extending daylight hours, of course temperatures will rise, THERES MORE DAYLIGHT!

daylight savings time was introduced under a democratic congress. pretty clear that this is part of the liberal global warming farce, if we are extending daylight hours, of course temperatures will rise, THERES MORE DAYLIGHT!

You play as Joel. I don't ever remember seeing his last name. The game starts with Joel and his daughter Sarah up late at night. Sarah falls asleep and Joel takes her to bed. When Sarah wakes up, you play as her in the first hours of an outbreak. This particular "zombie" outbreak takes the shape in Cordyceps, a fungus that can control a host and use it to spread aggressively by spores. After getting in your brother Tommy's truck and escaping the house, you see the chaos and military response around you. The three of you end up crashing, Sarah is injured, and Joel has to carry her from the death in town. A soldier finds you and over the radio his told to execute everything that moves. Joel manages to kill the soldier, but not before Sarah is shot and killed.

Jump cut to Joel in a quarantine zone near Boston. He and Tess are smugglers, and eventually get stuck smuggling Ellie out of Boston. Ellie has been infected but she has lasted much longer than the 48 hours it takes others to turn. Tess agrees and Joel reluctantly follows, but it's soon learned that Tess has recently been infected. She dies fighting back against a military squad on their tails.

Then Joel and Ellie go to Pittsburgh, and the game drags a little here. The combat is excellent, so it's tolerable, but story wise, not much happens. You meet Bill who helps you through a short section, and then you fight a ton of Hunters, extremely violent, kind of dumb, good baby steps for ol' murderin' Joel.

Anyways, you escape with Henry and Sam, brothers trying to leave the city. As you escape through storm drains and suburbs, all four of you learn more and more about each other. This part of the game really sold me on how intertwined your growing survival skills advance with narrative connections. You're tied to these four people, and you know it'll eventually go back to just the two of you, but it makes for a convenient family dynamic, showing a different side of each character.

Eventually Sam shows Ellie that he's also been infected, but could he also be sorta-immune like Ellie? NOPE. When the other three wake up, they find Sam twitching and growling in the other room. Time to shoot someone in the head! Henry stops Joel from doing it, but then Henry turns the gun on Joel and say that it was Joel's fault. At the last second Henry shoots himself.

SPRING

Well, the effect of that is much more dramatic in my mind. Eventually you meet Tommy. Joel tries to hand Ellie off on him because Tommy was in league with the fireflies (a group that want to liberate the quarantine zones or overthrow the military all over or some shit. Those were the people that got you to take Ellie in the first place. Did I say that?

Anyway, arguing! Joel why'd you do that! I'm sorry Ellie! Tommy sends the two to Colorado where the Firefly laboratory was working on a cure. When you get there, are they all there? NOOOOOO. But Joel does get impaled. Dazed escape... will he survive?

WINTER

Ellie in the woods, hunting game with her bow and arrow. Once she kills a big buck, she's approached by David and another person. David is played by Nolan North, which is a secret! You probably wouldn't know it was Nolan North until you saw the credits... or the embargo sheet... or heard him as a thug in Pittsburg. David tries to take Ellie under his wing, offering medicine... come in my van, Ellie. We'll take care of Joel.

They won't, Ellie stabs a fuckload of people, Joel kills a bunch and they're reunited, right as Ellie is chopping David's head in half with a butcher knife.

SPRING

Loved those jumpcut transitions. They head to Salt Lake City (because they found a note in Colorado). Both are anxious about what they'll find there. They see SOME FUCKING GIRAFFES WOW, SPEECHLESS PERFECT MOMENT. Seriously, the calm before the storm effect, you go up against the toughest Infected encounter, then the doctor's take Ellie after Joel is knocked out by some military dude. Wake up and its the fireflies lady from before. They have to remove Ellie's brain to get the parts for a vaccine, but this will kill her and Joel doesn't want that. Joel MURDERS EVERYONE IN THE PLACE.... except I left the last nurse lady alive. Then Joel takes Ellie off of the operating table and has to flee the rest of the armed Fireflies... just like the beginning. It's like a flash back, but more claustrophobic, heart-pounding. It's insane how effective this whole sequence is. Joel makes it to the garage, and the Fireflies lady confronts them agian. She states correctly that Ellie would want to give her life to find a cure for everything, but Joel can't let her die. Part Sarah. Part everything that's come before. Part fuck you man, I'm Joel. Part he's just lost it.

Joel kills the Fireflies lady, takes a truck and tells Ellie that they didn't need her anymore, that there's a lot of other people immune to the infection that they've been operating on. Joel then takes her west and the two head over a ravine. Ellie asks Joel to promise that everything he said was true. Joel says its true. The end. This is all done much nicer than I've summarized, but at the end I was like... damn you! Don't end like this!

I think it's a testament to the writing and performances that I knew I was potentially dooming mankind, but never once questioned Joel's decision. What kept bothering me was the "It's what she WOULD HAVE wanted," as opposed to "we told her the risks, she wants this."

Put me in the same position, give me the score and as long as you promise not to make my eventual statue in the center of the city you'll have to inevitably name for me any less than 70 feet tall, I'll grab an ice cream scoop and do it for you. They made it pretty obvious they hadn't discussed it with Ellie, and that rubbed me wrong. (Plus it had been just a few days and there weren't any bandages on Ellie's head... Had that hack doctor even HEARD of a biopsy? Jesus Christ... Take a sample and see if you can grow cultures to study before you go sawing the roofs off kids' heads, will ya?)

Holy shit. I haven't cried so much during a video game. I don't know if anyone else reacted this strongly...I'd be interested to talk to Anthony about the response of a parent...especially a little girl. That moment when they're running from the house, the overwhelming helplessness of a world collapsing, when she sprains her ankle and he carries her from the rampaging monsters (by the way did you catch that haiku formation of the story? Where he carried Sara from the Runners, he carries Ellie from the Fireflies), and finally the horror of watching your daughter die in your arms...all at the hands of the people who should have protected you in the first place. And that was just the beginning.

The story of Ishmael was gut-wrenching for me too. His story had me frantically searching the town for clues, devouring each article. I have never cared about those booklets and pamphlets you find in games. I'm not here to read! Bah! But I was hooked. And that moment when you get to the overrun sewer town, that moment when you stumble on the nursery with cribs and a place for the kids to learn? My stomach absolutely turned.

Finally, Ellie. She's smart,capable and dangerous. And her question and story at the end was great. She knows the truth, she knows Joel. They have a bond. We've all experienced that feeling when someone we love lies and we just go along with it. Because let's face it the truth would be more painful than the lie. So as she put, why not just wait it out with the person you care about. The same way she was willing to lose her mind with her friend, she is willing to abandon herself to a similar madness/lie to stay with Joel._________________It's okay to just have fun sometimes.

My reaction for Henry killing himself was priceless. (I do have it recorded, but still uploading the videos) I know it was sad and all, but I would think he would just break down and cry. Nope, he shot himself and surprised the f*ck out of me. I almost cried on camera when Joel arrived after Ellie stabbed David furiously. The emotions during that scene was quite overwhelming._________________

Last edited by UghRochester on Fri Jun 21, 2013 4:26 pm; edited 1 time in total

The tears are going to be what I remember about this game for a long time. On my second play-through right now and the scene wit Sarah keeps getting worse for me. I'm starting to feel I'd hate to be in that soldier's shoes almost as much as Joel's.

Did anyone else feel that by the time you got to play as Ellie all the skills you'd learned as Joel made you a much more efficient killer? The way she has to work harder and even more violently than Joel to bring someone down churned my stomach and made me play the rest of her section in a pure stealth/avoidance way(In town, not the guys who came hunting her. Seriously, fuck those guys). It was about the third time I took someone down with that knife I went from "This is awesome! Unlimited shivs!" to "I need to take a shower. This is wrong on sooooo many levels."

That moment when you start the Winter with Ellie and you start worrying...did they just kill their 2nd controllable character?

That was one of the best parts in the game. Having someone you care for and stopping at nothing to ensure his safety. Loved when Ellie stepped up to that plate. I wasn't looking at a little girl during that time, but she still is a little girl. Loved how Naughty_Dog made it so people know she's a teenager still and can be easily defeated by grown men.

Mobius_Sean wrote:

The tears are going to be what I remember about this game for a long time. On my second play-through right now and the scene wit Sarah keeps getting worse for me. I'm starting to feel I'd hate to be in that soldier's shoes almost as much as Joel's.

Did anyone else feel that by the time you got to play as Ellie all the skills you'd learned as Joel made you a much more efficient killer? The way she has to work harder and even more violently than Joel to bring someone down churned my stomach and made me play the rest of her section in a pure stealth/avoidance way(In town, not the guys who came hunting her. Seriously, fuck those guys). It was about the third time I took someone down with that knife I went from "This is awesome! Unlimited shivs!" to "I need to take a shower. This is wrong on sooooo many levels."

Being stealth was the whole part of those events. She couldn't just fist fight the men like Joel could or she would get killed. I can't imagine how Ellie felt killing each person. That would be highly traumatic for a young girl. Like mentioned before, David being on top of Ellie while she's reaching for her shiv, that part was so emotional._________________

I think I'm in the same boat as Daniel. I didn't shed a tear once. And I'm not claiming to be overly manly-man who tore out his own tear-ducts at the ripe age of 6, no. I cry way more than a grown man should during movies. I've seen Ladder 49 six times, and cried like a five year old school girl every time. I even tear up whenever I watch Gladiator. And don't get me started on Big Fish.

It wasn't because I didn't enjoy the story. The game was amazing. I felt connected to the characters, the story was entertaining, well paced, well written. Overall, it was a spot-on good time. I can't put a finger on why I wasn't 100% invested in the story.

I do think it was a tad-bit predictible. Joel is rough, gruff, rock'em sock'em manly man who is forced to babysit, and is cold as ice to be stuck with diaper duty. Time passes, Joel starts to show breaks in the visage of overly manly-manness, and lets baby use weapon. Jokes start to be shared, coversations are had, man and kid turn into teammates. Teammates turn into something like family. Then the ending...of course she would need to die to make the cure. It was time for the big emotional hook. And of course Joel was going to go all Commando on the hospital and single handedly wipe out a platoon for armored, trained soldiers.

That doesn't make it bad, of course. It was still amazing. I wish it would have been a little longer...17 hours isn't bad, but I wouldn't have minded seeing it go another 5 to 10. Though I can see how dragging it out would make it repetitive if not done right. The game did have a bit of a predictible pattern of humans-zombies-humans-zombies-humans.

Best part of the game? Ellie. She might be my new favorite fictional character. One of them, anyway. She is everything I hope I would be if I were in her shoes. Smart, strong, witty, resiliant, yet guarded...bravo. I enjoyed the 'stages of Joel' as well, watching him change from rough and gruff to bff.

In the end, I guess I can't put my finger on what I didn't connect 100% too. But it doesn't matter. I'll play through it a couple more times. And as much as I generally dislike multiplayer, I might even give this one a go.

I know I'm rambling, and I'm almost done, I just want to comment on the ending. I was left...empty by it. I didn't like what Joel did, but I didn't like the idea of letting her die either. I'm not saying I could have done it better...but, man. I just dont know. It's not right to let an innocent child die, for any reason. But despite the argument of 'they didn't ask her, they assumed it was what she would want', she really DID want it. She said in the end she was waiitng for her turn to die. And for Joel to just stone-faced lie to her about it. Eeeeh...sketchy. Just when I was starting to like Joel as a person, he makes me all confused again.

^Mine was 20+ hours. I loved exploring areas, but mainly it took a long time in certain parts, specially the end. Finished the story with barely any health. I couldn't even see the health bar in the health meter._________________